Mathematics Across The Curriculum

Maximising opportunities for mathematics in other subjectsDoes your curriculum ensure that mathematics is creative, that it inspires and children feel a sense of excitement when they are learning?

Mathematics is a creative subject and the programmes of study in the New Curriculum are written so that schools can make connections with different areas of the curriculum.

We have supported schools through inset training and helped to run cross curricular projects with schools linking different areas with the mathematics curriculum.

Two of these areas have been Maths and Art and Maths and Story.

Through both of these studies, schools have found that:

There was an increase pupils' self-esteem in mathematics lessons

The projects challenged preconceptions of what maths is

There was an opportunity to explore the beauty of maths

There was an increase in pupil motivation and enjoyment

Students made connections between different areas of maths in a meaningful way

Maths and ArtMathematics and Art are traditionally seen as very separate subjects. However, often ,the beauty of mathematics can be best expressed through art and the study of the underpinning mathematical ideas.

Galileo Galilei in his Il Saggiatore wrote that “[The universe] is written in the language of mathematics, and its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometric figures Artists who strive and seek to study nature must therefore first fully understand mathematics.

By studying different artists and the different schools of art the students covered many areas of maths including:

Constructing shapes, both 2D and 3D , and discovering/ analysing their properties

Studying meaningful measures and perspective

Looking at symmetry and tessellation

Pattern, both in nature and constructed

Scale

Ratio and proportion

Fractions

And many more..

Maths and StoryWe use books to show teachers how stories and maths can be used in conjunction to each other to support conceptual development and language acquisition.

Children enjoy books from a very early age. Pictures initially attract them, and later the storylines and characters. Stories make anything seem possible with just a little imagination. The unfolding of a story is full of fun and excitement.

This makes stories a good way to help children to develop mathematical ideas. Using stories in this way can also help children to see the relevance of mathematics in their own lives.

Our courses explore many different books for all KS1 and KS2 pupils and how they can be magical beginnings for discovering mathematical ideas.